Not so Haunted House
by Chestnutt
Summary: The tadpole trio is out trick or treating on Halloween. Everything is going smoothly until they encounter a seemingly haunted house fabled to harbor tons of candy! But when Zeroro goes it alone and doesn't come back, who will save him? Giroro of course!


**Happy late Halloween everyone! I hope you all had fun. I went trick or treating as Dib from Invader Zim. x3 Fun funn. Well, anyway, this story was fun to write, though it was like a year in the making. Not sure why... I'm just lazy. Anyway, enjoy! And don't forget to review!

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The setting sun cast long shadows across the land, signaling the approach of night. Twinkling stars could already be seen shining dimly through the sky. A light breeze carried the fallen leaves across the pavement, making a scraping noise as they went. Merry laughs from children could be heard throughout the streets, some just stepping out of their homes. They ran from house to house, holding open their bags as the door was answered, delight spreading across their little faces as a piece of candy was dropped inside. Each was dressed as some sort of space creature or even something from a childhood myth. Under a light pole stood a green tadpole keronian, tapping his foot impatiently. Little fake horns protruded from his head, while a forked tail drooped down where his normal tadpole tail usually was. One hand clutched a devil's pick, while the other a small bag, currently empty. Next to him stood another tadpole, red in color, but with more of a nervous air about him. Scary wasn't really his thing, and it often frightened him, though he always tried to put a brave face on. Nevertheless, he dressed up all the same. He was clad in a oversized, keronian soldier outfit, a pair of dog tags dangling from his neck. An army bag was slung across his shoulder, also empty. Every piece of his costume was borrowed from his older brother, Garuru. Keroro gave an irritated sigh. "Jeez! Where's Zeroro? He was supposed to meet us here a while ago! All the candy will be gone by the time he shows up! I think we should just go without him." He remarked, turning to his friend.

"Just give him a bit more. I'm sure he'll be here soon." Giroro assured him in a somewhat calm tone. He blushed a bit. Even if Keroro decided to go trick or treating, either with or without Zeroro, he would wait for his blue friend, no matter how long it took. For him, Zeroro was one of the most enjoyable people to be around and he felt fortunate to have him as a friend. Always having to save him, comfort him, encourage him, protect him... His mind began to wonder.

"Keroro-kun! Giroro-kun!" A shrill voice called. The two turned their heads, and sure enough, there was Zeroro, running clumsily towards them. A worried gleam shown in his eyes as he approached his waiting friends. "S-sorry I'm late! Keroro-kun kinda told me last second.." He explained, out of breath. A black witch's hat lay a top his head, monogrammed with the usual four-pointed star, while a silk cape dragged across the ground. In his hands held a broom and black candy bag. Although Keroro had told him late, he was grateful he was told at all. He twirled around, causing his cape to flutter. "How do you like my costume? My dad got it for me all the way from Pekopon!" Zeroro told them, looking suddenly proud. The moonlight shown on the blue tadpole, making him glow a heavenly silver. He smiled behind his mask as he caught Giroro's eye.

"I-it's really n-nice, Zeroro!"Giroro stuttered, hiding his reddening face. A small trickle of blood ran from his nose, which he quickly wiped away. Keroro said nothing, looking uninterested.

"Yeah, yeah. Can we _go_ already!" He wined, twirling his devil's tail. The other two glanced at each other, gave a sigh, and started walking. The trio trotted around the neighborhood, smiling happily. Keroro became wild with excitement as he looked into his sack, now half full with sugary sweets. "Woohoo! That last lady gave me soo much!" He exclaimed, showing his earnings to the his friends.

Zeroro looked down in dismay. He hadn't gotten any from the last house, seeing as how Keroro had practically pushed him clear out of the way. There was only enough in his bag to hardly cover the bottom. He sighed.

Giroro gave him a concerned look. He could never stand it when his friend was sad, which was practically all the time. "O-oy, Zeroro. Here." Holding out his palm, the red tadpole revealed a handful of candy. Zeroro's face lit up instantly and he happily excepted the sweets.

"Wow! Thanks so much Giroro-kun!" His friend nodded his head and smiled.

"Don't mention it Zeroro. I just-." He was interrupted by a squealing Keroro. They both turned their heads to see the little devil marvel at, what looked like, a haunted house. The Keronian style home looked old and decrepit, nearly falling apart. Dead grass and trees grew around the large expanse of land, adding to the eeriness. A slight fog seemed to cover that one area, while the houses next to it had none. Both Giroro and Zeroro gulped.

"I hear that this house has loads of candy! Anyone who's brave enough to knock on the door gets a huge heap! No one has ever done it before though. That must mean that there's a _mountain_ of candy in there!" He paused for a second, giving Zeroro a devious look. "Soooo...who's gonna go? Zeroro?" The blue tadpole jumped.

"M-meeee! But..w-why?" Tears began to well up in his eyes at the very thought of it. Keroro came up and nudged him.

"Oh, come on! You're not scared are you? Besides, aren't we friends?" The last sentence made Zeroro whimper. There's no way he could say no now.

"I-I guess..." He wiped the tears from his eyes and took a step forward. "I guess I'll d-do it..."

"GREAT!" Keroro shoved him forward, making the witch yelp and stumble. Giroro looked at him angrily, then back at Zeroro, who was now making his way up the walkway. His eyes softened. Why didn't he do anything? He turned back to Keroro, who was twirling his devil tail again, an excited look on his face.

"Are you _sure _about this?" Edge filled his voice as he scowled at his friend.

"Sure I'm sure! There's nothing to it! Now we just wait for Zeroro to get back.. Ya know, if he ever _does_ come back." Giroro double taked.

"EHHH!"...

Meanwhile, Zeroro crept along the seemingly endless walkway to the house, sniffling every few seconds. He clutched his broom in terror, his hands becoming an even lighter shade of blue. His heart jumped as he heard a twig crack behind him, turning around abruptly. "Who-who's there!" The blue tadpole asked nervously. Another twig cracked and he broke into a run, not stopping until he reached, well, slammed into the front door of the house. Rubbing his head, he slowly picked himself up.

"Owwww..." Zeroro mumbled, still trying to collect himself. He stared up at the metallic front door with frightful eyes. Whimpering, he brought a shaky hand up to it, and knocked three times. An echo could be heard from inside. Almost on command, the door creaked open, nearly giving Zeroro a heart attack. He breathed in deeply and poked his head inside. Darkness.

"He-hello? Tr-trick or tr-treat?" There was no answer. The tadpole stepped inside, only to have the door shut behind him. Of course. He screamed and frantically tried to open the door, but to no avail. Slamming the door with his little fists, he called out.

"Heyyy! Heyyy! Someone help me! Please someone help me! PLEASE!" Slumping down to the floor, his voice began to die down. "Please...someone save me.." He crawled to a corner of the room and curled up into a ball. In his mind, the tadpole knew there was only one person who could come to his rescue now. "Please save me..Giroro-kun..."...

Said red tadpole stood waiting with Keroro, biting the inside of his mouth nervously. Zeroro had been inside the house for nearly fifteen minutes now, and he was starting to worry. He glanced at his green friend, who was beginning to look impatient. The other tadpole gave an irritated sigh.

"Ughhhhh! How long does it take to get candy from _one _house! He's been in there _forever_! C'mon Giroro, let's go." He started walking in the other direction, only to have Giroro stop him.

"Wait! We can't just _leave_! He might be in trouble!" Keroro merely blew him off, and continued walking.

"He'll be fiiine! Now let's goooo!"

"_You _can go. _I'm _going in to find Zeroro." Giroro told him, his voice spiking with anger. The other turned his head to face him, looking at him dumbfounded.

"Wow, seriously? Alright, I won't stop you. More candy for me!" He cheered, making his way to the next house. Giroro glared at the back of his head as he went, before turning towards the house. He took in a shaky breath as he tried to muster up his courage. Taking a few hesitant steps at first, he made into a mad dash to the house, his hat flaps fluttering as he ran. _Don't worry Zeroro. I'm coming_...

The blue tadpole remained in the corner, his eyes closed as he silently shed tears. The only thing keeping him from freaking out was the thought of being rescued, which he clung to. A sigh escaped his mouth as his eyes opened a crack. "Giroro-kun...where are you?" He bolted up as he heard the door creak open, the dark room flooding with dim moonlight. A red tadpole slowly walked in, scanning the room, a scared look in his eyes. Under his mask, Zeroro smiled wide. "Giroro-kun!" He shouted as he ran over to him.

"Zeroro! There you a–!" He was cut off as the other one hugged him, sobbing into his chest.

"I kn-knew you'd c-come and get m-me Gi-giroro-kuuun!" The blue tadpole hiccuped, clinging to him tighter. Giroro blushed as he slowly returned the hug, gently patting the other's back.

"C-calm down Zeroro. Everything'll be fine! C'mon, let's get out of here." Taking the other's hand, he began leading him towards the door when, of course, it slammed shut again. Both shrieked and took a few hasty steps back, breathing heavily. Zeroro whimpered and grabbed Giroro's arm.

"Wh-what do we do now?" He dreaded the answer as he looked behind him to see a large expanse of darkness, which was the rest of the house. Giroro gulped and glanced at his quivering friend.

"I guess we have to search the rest of the house for a way out...seeing as how this one won't budge." Taking a few steps forward, he tugged on the handle to the door, but sighed as it held firm. With his companion still holding onto his arm, he began his descent into the house. Pulling out a flashlight from his army bag, he used to it guide their way.

After much searching, which was not very pleasant for either of them, the duo eventually came to a long hallway, its walls covered with doors. Giroro shined his light down it and squinted. A large door stood at the end of the hallway, which he believed to be the exit. He smiled and nudged Zeroro. "Not long now, Zeroro. We just have to get to that door and then we're outta here!" The blue tadpole nodded in response and they began to slowly make their way down the hall. As they walked, a small button came into view, right in the middle of the floor. They kneeled over it curiously.

"Hmmm? What's this?" The blue keronian asked, pointing at it.

"Not sure... Should we press it?" At this, Zeroro shook his head rapidly.

"N-no! We don't know what it does! I just want to leave..." He whimpered.

"Oh, come on. It probably does nothing anyway..." Giroro said, pressing it gently. They waited for a couple seconds. Nothing. Giroro snickered. "See? Noth—!" Suddenly, a trap door opened up underneath them, sending the two falling into the depths below. "INGGGGG!"

"AHHHHHHH!" They screamed, clinging to each other.

"I told you not to press it! I TOLD YOU!" Zeroro yelled, infuriated. He had lost his hat and broom, his cape now flying wildly around him.

"I-I'M SORRY! I WAS CURIOUS!" The red tadpole looked down to see the bottom of the abyss, his eyes widening. Tightening his hold on Zeroro, they both screamed as they braced for impact, expecting the end...

Instead, there was a very unexpected soft landing. The duo slowly opened their eyes to see that they had landed in a giant pile of candy, nearly touching the ceiling. The whole room was filled with the sugary delights, and the two tadpoles' mouths watered at the sight of it. Zeroro gulped, letting go of Giroro.

"I-is this heaven?" He asked slowly, looking around him. Giroro chuckled and pushed him playfully.

"Nope. But it sure seems that way! Wahoo!" He exclaimed before diving into the humorous pile, stuffing his bag to the brim. It wasn't long before Zeroro followed his example, eating until his stomach hurt. The two poked their heads through the sweets and held the other's gaze, before breaking out in childish laughter. As they calmed down, the blue tadpole slowly waded over to his friend.

"Th-thanks again for saving me, Giroro-kun.. Besides the whole scary house thing and nearly falling to our doom, this was the best Halloween I've ever had!" Zeroro said, blushing slightly. Giroro grinned and gently pat the tadpole's head.

"Of course Zeroro. It's kinda become my personal duty at this point. And, you're right. This Halloween is awesome! I'm glad I could spend it with you. You have no idea how much I love–..." He stopped himself and turned his head to hide the streak of red that was so evident on his ran his hand along the candy before continuing, "...a-all this candy!" Zeroro gave him a confused look, which turned into a warm smile. Without warning, he leaned forward and gently touched foreheads with Giroro. The other tadpole stiffened, his blush deepening.

"Ze-zeroro..! Wh-what are you...?" His voice heightened in surprise, only to trail off slowly as a pair of small hands reached for his, their fingers intertwining.

"Happy Halloween, Giroro-kun..." Zeroro murmured, eyes closed. Giroro stared at him for a moment, finally loosening up. Smiling, the red tadpole leaned in further.

"Happy Halloween, Zeroro..." He replied, gingerly pressing his lips to the other's masked ones.

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**Sooo? What do ya think? Let me know by reviewing! **


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